Le marquis de Villemer

First edition of the theatrical adaptation.
 
Contemporary binding in red half morocco with corners, spine with five raised bands framed by gilt fillets, adorned with double gilt panels and decorative tooling, gilt fillets framing the marbled paper boards, combed paper endpapers and pastedowns, combed edges.
A few stains to the covers, a crisp and clean copy, free of foxing.
 
Signed autograph inscription by George Sand to the actor Fresne : « à monsieur Fresne, souvenirs affectueux. G. Sand. »
Fresne had performed in her play Molière at its premiere at the Théâtre de la Gaîté in 1851. 

« On 1^st March 1864, the theatrical event of the year took place: the premiere of Le Marquis de Villemer. The Odéon Theatre, cordoned off by police lines, was stormed by students who had been camping out in the square since ten in the morning. Inside, the actors were interrupted by stomping, shouting, and thunderous applause. The hired claque was overwhelmed. Between 3,000 and 4,000 people were turned away at the door. The imperial family applauded, the emperor wept openly, Flaubert was in tears, Prince Napoléon shouted his enthusiasm. It was a triumph. Two hundred people surrounded George and embraced her in the theatre foyer. Students escorted her back to her home to the cries of « Vive George Sand! Vive Mademoiselle La Quintinie! à bas les cléricaux! » The police dispersed the crowd later that night. These anticlerical demonstrations were all the more surprising given that the play contained no such allusions. It was a melodrama—highly accomplished—in which love triumphs over social prejudice. The first act, infused with the spirit of Dumas fils, is dazzling. The play tells the story of two brothers: one, deeply attached to his mother, introverted and serious, initially refuses to marry... but ends up wedding the virtuous and upright lady’s companion. The other, a charming and witty libertine in his forties, marries a wealthy heiress just out of the convent. The pace is brisk, the characters well drawn. The play benefited from George Sand’s aura. Its success was repeated night after night. The box office receipts were extraordinary. The Latin Quarter was unrecognizable. The narrow streets around the Odéon, far removed from the elegant grands boulevards, were clogged with luxury carriages. Elegant ladies queued at the box office from early morning. The Odéon—once described as a theatre that was “dirty, cold, remote, deserted, wretched” (Letter to Maurice and Lina Dudevant-Sand, 5 March 1864)—was lit up every evening. » (Evelyne Bloch-Dano, Le Dernier Amour de George Sand, 2010)